Kevin and Shanna’s residence, a three-story semi-detached home, had slowly become a fragmented and dimly lit collection of spaces. The ground floor, in particular, suffered from an excess of poorly configured walls that created a maze of small, impractical rooms. The clients’ aspiration was to inject a sense of openness and light into their living space, necessitating a significant structural and aesthetic transformation.
You’re staring at cracked plaster walls, uneven creaky floors, and outdated fixtures of your century home and thinking, “It’s time for a renovation.” But let’s be clear: conducting major renovations of an older home isn’t a simple project. It’s a multi-month logistical challenge that involves detailed planning, hundreds of decisions, and a significant investment of time and money.
Nestled in Parkdale, Toronto, we’ve transformed six underutilized parking spaces into a sustainable, light-filled laneway house, offering a unique blend of comfort and energy efficiency. Leveraging passive house principles, this project features in-floor radiant heating, efficient insulation, and an innovative “breathing wall” for continuous ventilation, all whilst maintaining a clean design aesthetic. This transformation not only pays homage to Toronto’s garage vernacular with its robust exterior but also opens new vistas for sustainable, urban living.
Ivan and Melissa were interested in updating the style and layout of their home in Lawrence Park, Toronto. Following a recommendation from friends who we had worked with previously, they reached out to us and we began our Pre-construction process, to define their renovation priorities and provide a plan and schedule that satisfied their investment goals and timeline.
Kelly and Kenzie were looking to update their third floor to create a more modern and functional master bedroom and bathroom. The floors creaked and were uneven, and the bathroom was barely usable. The bathroom hadn’t been updated since the 1970s and the closet was unfinished, so much so you could see through to the second floor.
Gillian and Iain were looking to refresh their living room and kitchen, while also opening up the space to connect the rooms and install an island in their kitchen.
For this century home in the westend of Toronto, the owners needed a more functional kitchen and wanted a more connected and modern space.
To help them, we gutted and swapped the kitchen and the TV room and removed a dividing brick wall.
Mark and Lisa moved into a six-story home built into the side of a ravine. The house was beautiful but came with significant structural challenges. They also wanted to re-do the kitchen and the laundry room. The outdoor roof tile deck was structurally compromised. The entire roof had to removed, reframed and retiled.
Cindy and John were looking to maximize the backyard space of their westside Toronto home. Space was tight but their dreams were big. They wanted a stationary pool and space where they could host friends and family for BBQs. In the past, we have helped them upgrade their front porch into an entrance vestibule and transform their basement into a nanny suite. So when they were looking for help to improve their backyard, they called Oriel.
Celine and Steven live in an old Toronto home that was initially a multi-unit apartment house. We first worked with them to transform it into a single-family home, primarily working on the second and third floors. The most recent job was to modernize the first floor while carefully integrating with their home’s historic character.
